The Stand In

Chapter 14

Zak POV

"Where is it?" I huff, digging through the couch. 

"It's not in the couch bro." Bacon says from the other side of the room, clearly amused at how frantic I had become. 

"It has to be! I can hear it! It's driving me nuts!" I tell him, yanking off the couch cushions and diving in.

"Are you sure it's not somewhere else?"

"Nope." I growl, reaching as far as I could before getting my arm wedged into the couch. "Damn it."

"Dude, I can hear it in the kitchen!" Bacon calls, leaving me to look up and struggle furiously until my arm dislodges and I clamber over the couch, heading towards the kitchen. 

Bacon is right, it's louder in here and after a long search, I find it.

"Got ya' you little bastard." I tell the phone, turning off the alarm that had been going non-stop for the past hour.

"Why did you set an alarm for this time?" Bacon questions. 

"I didn't." I tell him before yanking the phone out of my pocket. 

I didn't set an alarm at all. So why was it going off?!

Pressing the button, the screen lights up, displaying a photo with Elle and two other women.
"It's not my phone." I tell him, falling onto the kitchen chair with a sigh.

"Who's phone is it?"

"Elle's, of course. She is the only other person who has been here."

"Never know with you..." Bacon mutters, not thinking that I can hear him. I let the comment slide in favour of looking at the notifications building on her screen.

There are a ton of missed calls and messages from a woman called Sophie as well as a facetime miss call from a woman called Mia. I look at Bacon, wondering if I can get him to run the phone over to Elle's, but a glance at the time tells me that I have no hope when the crew would be turning up to set up lighting in the theatre to film some episodes. 

I needed Bacon here, helping me out and making sure no idiot leaves the door open like they did last week. Gracie wandered off and was almost a street over when she was brought back by a woman who recognised her off my social media. 

In those moments, I had lost my shit. Almost tore through the community trying to find her, desperately looking in everyone's gardens and ringing the community security to keep an eye out for her. The only relief I got was when I got back home and saw her, after Bacon rang me, letting me know she was safe and back at the house.

I couldn't thank the lady enough and made a vow with Bacon, never to let it happen again. She may only be a dog to some people, but she was my companion, my bit of light when the world has gone dark.

When Elle's phone begins to ring again, I see a request for FaceTime from Mia, and answer it. 

"Hello."

The woman on the other side pauses, before her eyes narrow. "Where is Elle?!"

"I don't know." I tell them truthfully. "She left her phone at my house, she was going home."

"You better be telling the truth or I'll come over there and f-"

The woman is cut off and the phone is moved over until a man appears on the screen. "Hello, this is Henry."

"Hi. I'm Zak." I tell him, listening as he tells the woman behind him to shush. The screen flashes, telling me that he's just taken a screenshot of my face.